Hidden Heirs and Fallen Crowns (Complete)

Chapter 14

Hey!! So the photo on the side comes in later in the chapter :D Enjoy!

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Chapter 14

I had spent the rest of the day in my dark room, rubbing my temple and asking myself how the hell I was going to survive like this. At night, I had had nightmares of everyone I loved saying what mum had said and walking away from me. The dream faded even as I tried to remember it, but I clung on to the memories. Zed, Jasmine, Mum ... I remembered someone else in the dream; someone who hadn't walked away from me. She had been tall, elegantly dressed, and radiantly beautiful. Behind her trailed a long, thick, fur cloak, a beautifully rich dark purple colour. The fur edges had been white as snow. She had been wearing a long, white dress; not too tight and not too large. She had seemed like a Queen. At first, she had looked me, smiling proudly. Her hair had been done up beautifully, with curls that suited her to high heavens.

After Mum, Zed and Jasmine had walked away from me, she had welcomed me with open arms. What had she called me? Her ...

I sat up suddenly, eyes wide open. She had said, "I am so proud of you, my daughter." Yes, that's exactly what she had said. I wasn't imagining it.

Really? I heard. You saw the Queen in a dream?

"Zed, you should really stop doing that," I said out-loud.

Sorry! I was just checking on you - we didn't really see you yesterday.

"Oh." The memories came flooding back, my brain filling with every kind of emotion I had felt yesterday. I slumped back against my cushion, and closed my eyes.

Mum.

Gone.

Sorry.

"No - it's OK," I said, forcing myself to get out of bed.

Day three in my best friend's mansion: deep breath.

I crossed the corridor, went down the stairs, and found the living room. This time, Zed and Jasmine looked at me anxiously. I ignored them and headed for the bathroom. When I came back through the door, Zed was staring at me, concentrated.

"Cut it out," I said, slumping down on the sofa. "You could just ask me if you wanted to know something."

"Sorry."

"Did you sleep well?" asked Jasmine. "You didn't have any bad dreams about ... what happened yesterday, did you?"

"What happened yesterday?" I asked casually, buttering my toast. I hesitated, though. My hands started trembling, and my eyes got blurry again. I wiped the tears away, and finished buttering my toast.

"Well, you know," she said untactfully. "When, well ..."

"Nothing happened yesterday," I concluded firmly.

"But ..."

"I said, NOTHING happened yesterday!" I yelled, throwing the knife down with a clatter. They stared at me, bewildered. I picked my knife up again, ignoring their looks. There was an awkward silence for a second, while I crunched on my toast.

I thought and thought. Would Mum ever come back? No, I didn't think so. Having known her for fourteen years, I knew that she never came back on her word when she got that angry, however much she regretted it. I glanced at Jasmine and Zed, and saw that they were still looking at me. OK, I shouted a bit, but there's no need to look at me like that! I thought.

Another minutes passed in silence. "Look," I said, breaking the silence in frustration, "I ... I'm sorry shouted like that, but some people," I glared at Jasmine, "aren't very tactful when talking about delicate matters."